


How Rare And Beautiful

by fletchfeathers



Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game)
Genre: M/M, You're Welcome, big fluff, such a big fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-18
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-03-20 21:40:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13726515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fletchfeathers/pseuds/fletchfeathers
Summary: with shortness of breath, i’ll explain the infinite; how rare and beautiful it truly is that we exist





	How Rare And Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WalkOnThroughARedParade](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WalkOnThroughARedParade/gifts).



> [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzNvk80XY9s) makes me FUCKIN FEEL THINGS
> 
> more fluff more fluff i am unstoppable. also please welcome back my Ridiculously Flowery Prose

It had been a beautiful afternoon, even Talon has to admit it. They had woken in the morning to rain, but as they had packed up and hit the road it had started to ease off, the clouds clearing just as the afternoon was waning to bathe everything in a soft, golden light and the scent of a world refreshed. It had lifted everyone's moods to feel the sun's warmth on their backs, to admire the world as if reborn. 

Now, after the others have already settled for the night, the ground still has that damp-earth smell, the one Talon loves. The sun is little more than a burning ember on the horizon, the last of its orange glow surrendering to the deep purple of the night; and with each passing glance into the darkness above, Talon sees the pin-prick lights of a new scattering of stars. 

This, right here, is why Talon takes first watch.

He spends the first little while cleaning and sharpening his daggers, his keen hearing and sharp elven eyes keeping careful watch of the surrounding foliage, but he's not disturbed by anything bigger than a fox that lingers briefly around the outskirts of the camp, not quite curious enough to risk moving closer to the half-elf, before quietly slipping back into the trees. He hears an owl, too, hooting somewhere in the darkness, and thinks absently of Tris, sound asleep in his tent. 

Talon's attention drifts, just for a moment, to thoughts of golden curls fringed with afternoon light, of summer-sky eyes and a laugh that could probably make flowers grow. 

Allowing himself a small, genuine smile, he lies back in the grass, gazing up through the gaps in the overhead leaves to take in the starlit sky and the full moon, washing everything in pale silver. He knows he'll need to go and wake Quick Branch soon, but for now, there's time to simply appreciate the view. 

He seeks out the familiar shapes in the sky, traces lines in his mind between the stars, crafting the constellations that his mother taught him all those years ago. For once, even though the memory is heavy, it settles without hurting.

Talon sighs, and lets himself sink into the quiet of the night, savouring the stillness and the peace.

Until he hears footsteps in the leaves behind him. 

One of Talon's pointed ears flicks, just briefly, and his he sits bolt upright, one of his daggers already half-drawn as he turns to face the sound - 

\- and lets out a sharp sigh of relief when he sees an apprehensive Tristan, hands raised defensively, eyes wide in the darkness.

"What're you doing awake?" Talon asks, sheathing the dagger. "Fuck, you scared me."

"Sorry," Tris whispers, carefully lowering his hands. "I couldn't sleep."

Talon softens at that, scrubbing a hand back through his hair.

"Well, I've gotta go get Branch soon, but you can come sit with me 'til then."

Tris smiles gratefully and comes to sit next to Talon, pressing gently into the half-elf's side. Talon slings a lazy arm around Tris' middle, and Tris hums happily beside him, snuggling in closer.

"What's got you awake, then?" Talon asks. There's a beat before Tris answers, and Talon can almost see him scanning words in his head, carefully choosing the right ones.

"I had some bad dreams," Tris says eventually, and there's something closed off in his voice, something that asks Talon not to press the issue. Talon just nods, drawing him in closer.

"Sucks," is what he decides on, and that seems to satisfy Tris, who rests his head in the crook of Talon's shoulder. 

"What were you doing?" Tris asks. "I know I don't take watch often, but I'm pretty sure you are not supposed to do it lying down. Did you fall asleep?"

Talon hisses a laugh between his teeth. 

"Yeah, just thought I'd take a nap out here. I love sleeping on wet leaves. I was actually _hoping_ a monster would come and eat us all."

Tris opens his mouth to retaliate but pauses, then grins, giving Talon a gentle shove. Talon grins right back, mischievous and roguish as ever, and ruffles Tris' hair.

"What were you _actually_ doing?" Tris tries again, and this time, Talon relents.

"Just wanted to look at the stars," he replies, glancing upwards. Tris follows his gaze, and lets out a soft gasp as he takes in just how clear the night sky is, sees the infinite expanse of stars swirling away into the darkness; and, when Talon looks back at Tris, he sees a pool of moonlight reflected in Tris' eyes. It makes something in his chest feel strangely tight, and his breath hitches, just slightly.

Tris' gaze returns to Talon, wide and bright and curious, and he smiles a breathtaking smile at Talon, who just … _stares_. There's not a whole lot else he can do.

"What do you think they really are?" Tris asks, softly, almost reverently. It brings Talon back out of his daze somewhat, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"I … think they're stars," Talon says slowly, but Tris shakes his head.

"No, I _know_ they're stars," he says, a little indignantly. "I mean. Where do you think they come from? How did they get there?"

Talon blinks, surprised at the combined simplicity and enormity of the question. A few joking responses flit across his mind, but Talon feels Tris' eyes on him and swallows, feeling heat creep up into his cheeks despite himself. He doesn't know why he suddenly feels so raw, so vulnerable, as though he's letting Tris into some great, life-changing secret.

"I don't know," he says, truthfully. "I never really … thought about it. I wouldn't even know who to ask."

Tris hums thoughtfully, plays with a loose thread in Talon's cloak, but doesn't say anything. Talon watches him for a moment, nudges Tris' shirt up just a little to trace circles on the soft skin of his hip, and smiles as Tris melts into him.

"What do you think?" he asks Tris, watching as the younger boy turns his gaze skyward.

"If I had to say," Tris says thoughtfully, "maybe they just found their own way here. Maybe it was the gods or maybe it was magic, but maybe it was none of that." 

Tris tilts his head, just a little, and the moonlight catches in the gold of his hair and the soft line of his jaw, and Talon is _so gone_. 

"Whatever put them there, though," Tris decides, looking back at Talon, "I'm glad it did." 

Talon just smiles, folds his arms around the younger boy and pulls him into his lap, letting their noses brush together gently. Tris looks Talon in the eyes, and Talon feels everything go still, thinks he could easily fall into that blue, would happily drown in it just to stay in this moment.

"I mean, for all I know," Talon says, quiet, honest, unblinking, "it could've been you."

And Talon doesn't care, not one bit, that that might've been the cheesiest fucking thing he's ever said, because Tris is _beaming_. 

Talon drops two soft kisses at the corners of Tris' mouth, smiles as Tris giggles, and strokes some stray blonde curls back from his forehead. 

"Talon, I -" Tris starts, barely managing to keep the waver from his voice. Talon shushes him with another kiss, and this - this feels different. It feels new, and like _more_ , and - _oh._

Surrounded by the quiet comfort of the darkness, Talon murmurs, "I know."


End file.
